Man Utd’s Poor Start Isn’t Telling the Full Story: Why Michael Carrick Deserves Time
Ben McAleer
Manchester United have accumulated just five points from their opening five Premier League matches. It matches the feat from the 2014/15 season. To be fair, United finished fourth that campaign, so there is hope yet.
Even so, it’s been a torrid few weeks for United. They have won just one of their opening five league matches, and endured a disappointing early EFL Cup exit at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month, this despite being two goals to the good shortly before half time.
With it, Michael Carrick is believed to be under pressure to turn the club’s fortunes around. After enjoying a fine second half to the season having succeeded Ruben Amorim in the Old Trafford dugout back in January, the new manager-bounce looks to have worn off… or has it?
Man Utd's fine attacking numbers
Yes, football is a results business. If the results are poor, then the manager tends to be the man to fall on the sword. And yet, United’s underlying numbers are noteworthy. They have scored eight league goals, the same as defending Premier League champions Arsenal.
They are also dominating matches, evident in a 59.9% possession return. Teams are struggling to contain United, and they are creating the relevant chances to hurt teams. After all, they rank top for shots (113) and chances created (81). Captain and creator-in-chief ranks third for this metric (13) of all players.
Man Utd rank top for shots in the Premier League this season
In addition, they are working their way into dangerous positions in the opposing box. 182 touches inside the opposition penalty area is more than any other team. Chelsea (160) rank second for this metric. With a little more composure in the final third, then United would be higher up the table.
Rather, they are languishing in 12th place, 10 points off league leaders Manchester City, though that gap may be cut short before long after their rivals were found guilty of 114 of their 115 charges.
Reports, then, that the club are willing to back rather than sack Carrick at this time should be welcomed with open arms. There’s no denying that United are undergoing a testing rebuild. They’ve signed three new central midfielders over the summer to bolster in a position that lost the experienced Casemiro at the end of last season.
New signings Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba still need time to settle in. Additionally, Carrick is having to rely on players that are not up to the standard the club is aspiring for. Luke Shaw may have enjoyed an injury free 2025/26 campaign. That was largely due to United’s lack of continental game time.
Shaw has already missed three successive competitive matches, with Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu stepping in at left-back in the former’s absence. What’s more, United are still having to rely on the ineffective Joshua Zirkzee on the frontline. The Dutchman was heavily linked with a move away from the club over the summer, yet the transfer window closed and he remained a United player.
For a club of United’s stature, that simply isn’t good enough. And while elite managers such as Antonio Conte, Julian Nagelsmann and Eddie Howe are on the market, the trio themselves would struggle to strike up a proper tune with his somewhat dysfunctional United side.
Yes, the pressure on any manager to succeed at Old Trafford is huge, and Carrick is no exception regardless of his heroics last season. The former United midfielder guided the club to an unlikely Champions League finish, despite a poor start to the campaign under predecessor Amorim.
It’s the norm for any head coach in Manchester. Now, though, United needs to ride out the storm. Another managerial change will do nothing but set them back in their efforts to really restore United to their perch.
Encouraging signs
Defensively, too, the club’s underlying numbers are positive. Not only have United had more touches in the opposition box than any other Premier League team, they have also seen their opponents have the fewest inside their own penalty area (92).
Yes, eight goals conceded doesn’t make for great reading, but they are doing everything in their power to minimise the pressure on Senne Lammens’ goal. Only Forest (10.4) are conceding fewer shots per game than United (10.6). Only three teams have committed more errors leading to an opposition shot than Carrick’s men (3).
It’s the perfect encapsulation of fine margins. The late equaliser they conceded against Everton was a thunderous Ainsley Maitland-Niles strike deep into second-half stoppage time. Erling Haaland’s goal in the Manchester Derby should have been ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee.
Fulham’s goal in United’s 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage was a Lisandro Martinez own goal. The Argentine was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.
These issues that are out of Carrick’s control have cost United an additional five points. They’d be level with Brighton with a little more luck. Things would look rosier on the red side of Manchester with a tad more fortune. And given the positive offensive and defensive numbers, United will get the rub of the green before long.
